Lodestar regulars will know that we have a soft spot for the Victorian/Edwardian ‘Renaissance Man’ Albert Strange — Yacht Designer, Sailor, Writer, Raconteur and not least Marine Artist. The Albert Strange Association, founded in 1978, exists to preserve his memory and promote interest in the world of traditional sail which he represents: Boat design and construction, sailing, marine art and maritime culture generally.
For a good introduction to Albert Strange you could do a lot worse than Albert Strange, Yacht Designer and Artist, by John Leather with members of the ASA. Lodestar’s recent revised edition improves on the 1990s original with facsimiles of Strange’s pre-WW‑I illustrated Yachting Monthly yarns, photos of current Albert Strange-designed yachts, and a comprehensive catalogue of all known designs and boats built to them.
Lodestar Books’ company vehicle is the Albert Strange Emerald, built 1937 to the design of Cherub III, which he drew for his own use in 1910 and regarded as his ideal small yacht. Emerald lives at Woodbridge on the east coast of England. She’s third from left in the gaggle of Strange boats on the river Deben at the head of this page. We were in mid-tack, hence the shivering headsails. Here she is in all her glory on the Clyde a few years ago:
